---
title: "Coffee vs Craft: which documents app for your Mac?"
author: Pedro Thomaz
source: https://coffeetext.app/blog/coffee-vs-craft
---

# Coffee vs Craft: which documents app for your Mac?

> Checked November 2026 against [Craft's site](https://www.craft.do/), [pricing](https://www.craft.do/pricing) and [help centre](https://support.craft.do/en). I make Coffee, so read this with that in mind. Coffee isn't affiliated with Craft.

If you want polished documents on every device you own, shared with other people who edit them with you, choose Craft. Choose Coffee if you work only on a Mac and want each note to be an ordinary Markdown file in a folder, where Git, scripts and AI tools can reach it, and where you can check what they changed.

They are built on different ideas. Craft is a workspace in the cloud, made of blocks, with sync, sharing and an AI assistant included. Coffee is an editor for a folder of files on your Mac, and it leaves sync and sharing to other tools.

## At a glance

| | Craft | Coffee |
|---|---|---|
| Price | [Free plan with 1,500 blocks and 1 GB. Plus €10 a month, or €6.40 a month billed yearly. Family €18 a month, or €12 billed yearly](https://www.craft.do/pricing), set in local currencies | €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once |
| Trying it | The free plan, with no time limit | 14 days, no card or account |
| Platforms | [Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Android and the web](https://support.craft.do/en/introduction/platforms) | Mac only, macOS 15 or later |
| Your documents | [On Craft's cloud servers, hosted on AWS](https://support.craft.do/en/account-and-subscription/data-and-security/data-storage), with [copies on Mac, iPhone and iPad for offline use](https://support.craft.do/en/introduction/offline) | One `.md` file per note, in a folder you choose |
| Sync | Built in, on [every plan](https://www.craft.do/pricing) | None of its own. Use iCloud Drive or similar |
| Working together | [Several people editing one document at once](https://support.craft.do/hc/en-us/articles/4413266374673-Sharing-and-Collaborating-on-Craft-Documents) | No shared editing |
| Export | [PDF, Word, image, Markdown and TextBundle on Mac and iOS](https://support.craft.do/en/import-and-export/export/document), fewer on Windows | PDF, Word, EPUB, HTML, Markdown, plain text |
| AI | [Craft Assistant, with cloud and on-device models](https://support.craft.do/en/ai-assistant), and [an MCP connection for outside AI tools](https://support.craft.do/en/integrate/mcp) | Ask, on device, and an MCP server, off until you turn it on |

## Where Craft is better

**Every device.** Craft runs on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android, and in a browser. Coffee runs on a Mac and nothing else. If you write on your phone, or your work computer runs Windows, this settles it.

**Working with other people.** In Craft, [several people can edit one document at the same time](https://support.craft.do/hc/en-us/articles/4413266374673-Sharing-and-Collaborating-on-Craft-Documents). Editors sign in with a Craft account, viewers don't need one, and everyone can comment. Craft says you don't need a Team plan for this. Coffee has nothing like it. Its notes are files, so you share them the way you share files, or propose a change through Git.

**Sync without thinking about it.** Craft keeps your documents in step across devices on every plan, the free one included. Coffee has no sync of its own. You put its folder in iCloud Drive or a similar service, and that service does the work.

**A free plan.** The [free plan](https://www.craft.do/pricing) has 1,500 blocks and 1 GB of storage, with sync, link sharing, offline access and PDF, Markdown and Word export. Coffee is free for 14 days, and after that you pay to keep editing.

**Publishing.** Every plan can [publish pages to the web](https://www.craft.do/pricing), with no limit on how many, and paid plans add passwords and expiry dates. Coffee doesn't publish anywhere.

**More than documents.** Tasks, a calendar and daily notes are [on every plan](https://www.craft.do/pricing), and the Mac app has [whiteboards](https://support.craft.do/en/introduction/offline). Coffee has templates, including a daily note, and that's as far as it goes. It's for writing documents.

**An assistant inside the app.** Craft Assistant answers questions about your space and can edit documents, on Mac and iOS for now. In [Explore mode it proposes changes and waits for you](https://support.craft.do/en/ai-assistant), and Craft says your content isn't used to train its models. The free plan includes about 20 AI sessions in total, and paid plans more.

## Where your documents live

Craft [stores documents on its cloud servers](https://support.craft.do/en/account-and-subscription/data-and-security/data-storage), encrypted at rest and in transit, and that's what makes its sync and sharing work. On Mac, iPhone and iPad, [all documents in your spaces are also kept on the device](https://support.craft.do/en/introduction/offline), so you can read, edit and search them offline. Images you haven't opened yet aren't, unless you turn on On-device Folders. Sharing, publishing, version history and the Assistant need a connection.

There is a local option, External Locations, where [supported documents are stored on your device](https://support.craft.do/en/account-and-subscription/data-and-security/data-storage). Craft lists its limits: no sharing or collaboration, folders to re-add when you change devices, and sync left to a service such as iCloud Drive.

Coffee keeps notes on your Mac and doesn't store them on a server. Each note is a Markdown file, so you can open your folder in Finder and see your writing as it is.

## AI tools: both can connect

Craft has [an MCP connection](https://support.craft.do/en/integrate/mcp) that works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Raycast and other MCP clients. You choose what each connection can see, from daily notes and tasks to a whole space, and whether it can write. It only works for spaces synced through Craft's cloud, not External Locations. Coffee has an MCP server too, off until you turn it on.

The difference is in how a tool gets to your words. In Craft, it goes through that connection. In Coffee, a note is a file, so anything that edits a file can work on it with nothing set up, and Coffee then shows you what changed.

## Where Coffee is different

I'm describing what Coffee has here, and not claiming Craft lacks all of it.

**Plain files from the start.** There's nothing to export, because your notes are already Markdown. Git, a command-line search, Time Machine and any other editor work on them directly. There's more in [the piece on plain local files](https://coffeetext.app/blog/markdown-editor-mac-plain-local-files), including what Coffee keeps outside your folder.

**Reviewing edits from outside.** When Claude, Cursor or anything else edits a file, Coffee shows each change since you last read the note, to keep or undo one at a time. See [how that works](https://coffeetext.app/blog/review-claude-cursor-markdown-changes).

**Folders as they are on disk.** The sidebar shows your folders as Finder does, with pinned notes and a sort order for each folder.

**Replace in all notes.** Find text or a regular expression across every note, see what each match becomes, leave any out, and undo the whole replace in one step.

**Version history that says what changed.** Every note keeps earlier versions, each labelled with what changed against the one before. You can name a version to keep it.

**Sums in your notes.** Write `20% of 50` or `Tokyo time` and the answer appears beside the line, without going into the file. [Try it here](https://coffeetext.app/blog/calculator-in-notes-mac).

**Propose a change.** In a Git repository, Coffee can send one note to a new branch and open a pull request, for people who'd rather not learn Git. See [how that works](https://coffeetext.app/blog/propose-change-git-without-learning-git).

**Books and Word files.** Coffee exports EPUB, and can make one book from a folder or a tag, a chapter per note. It also imports Word, RTF and ODT files as new notes.

**Private notes.** A note can be locked with Touch ID and encrypted on disk, and then it's hidden from search and AI apps. Its title, which is the file name, stays visible.

**A choice about paying.** Coffee has a €79 option, with two years of updates and €29 for each further year if you want them. Craft's [pricing page](https://www.craft.do/pricing) lists monthly and yearly plans.

## Moving between them

From Craft, [export as Markdown](https://support.craft.do/en/import-and-export/export/document). You can export many documents at once on Mac and iPad, and a whole folder from the Mac app. TextBundle also carries images, but Coffee reads `.md` files, so Markdown is the one to pick. On Mac, iPhone and iPad, items in a collection can go out as Markdown with their properties as front matter, which Coffee reads. Point Coffee at the folder, and try it on a copy first.

Markdown is plainer than a Craft page, so anything that depends on Craft's own layout is worth checking on a few documents before you move everything.

Going the other way, Craft [imports Markdown](https://support.craft.do/en/import-and-export/import/obsidian), including a whole folder of notes with images inside it, and keeps links between notes as links between documents. After that, the documents live in Craft's cloud.

## Choose Craft if

- You need your documents on iPhone, iPad, Windows or Android
- You write with other people, in the same document at the same time
- You want sync and sharing included, with a free plan to start
- You publish pages to the web, or want tasks and a calendar beside your notes
- You don't mind your documents living in Craft's cloud

## Choose Coffee if

- You work on a Mac running macOS 15 or later, and that's enough
- You want each note to be a file that other tools can open directly
- AI tools edit your files, and you want to check each change
- You want sums, PDF templates and Git proposals in the app
- You'd like the option of paying once

## Questions

### Does Craft store documents as Markdown files?

No. Craft keeps documents on its own cloud servers, hosted on AWS, with copies on your Mac, iPhone and iPad for offline use. You can export them as Markdown at any time, including on the free plan.

### Is Craft free?

There's a free plan with 1,500 blocks, 1 GB of storage, sync, sharing and Markdown export. On Craft's euro pricing page, Plus is €10 a month, or €6.40 a month when billed yearly, and prices are set in local currencies.

### Does Craft work offline?

Yes, on Mac, iPhone and iPad, where all documents in your spaces are kept on the device. Images you haven't opened yet may not be there. On the web, Windows and Android, only documents you opened while online are available, and some things, such as sharing and the AI Assistant, always need a connection.

### Can several people edit a Coffee note at the same time?

No. Coffee doesn't do shared editing. Its notes are plain files, so you can share them through a synced folder or a Git repository, but only one person should edit a note at a time. If you need live editing together, Craft does that.

### Is Coffee on iPhone or Windows?

No. Coffee runs only on a Mac with macOS 15 or later. If your notes are in iCloud Drive, another app on your iPhone can open the files.

---

Written by Pedro Thomaz, who makes Coffee, a Markdown editor for the Mac on macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days with no card or account, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. More at https://coffeetext.app/llms-full.txt